[1] Cleveland Cavaliers 99-105 [2] Toronto Raptors [Series tied 2-2]
The shooting struggles of Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan over the course of this post-season have been well documented but both of them came up big to help the Raptors win Game 4 at home and head back to Cleveland with the series tied at 2 games a piece. Unlike much of the Playoffs, the duo of Lowry and DeRozan contributed big and efficiently for Toronto and led the team to victory, much like they did for most of the regular season.
Lowry poured in 35 points on 14 of 20 shooting, passing Vince Carter for most number of 35 point Playoff games in Raptors franchise history. He also had 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals to show on his box score. DeRozan and Lowry contributed 67 points, their most combined as teammates (regular season and Playoffs). DeRozan dropped 32 points, registering back to back 30+ point games for the first time in his Playoff career.
Here’s how clutch Lowry and Derozan were: they scored 21 of the team’s 27 fourth quarter points.
The Raptors were ahead for most of the game, leading by as many as 18, before a Cavaliers’ second-half run made the ball game witness numerous lead changes for most of the fourth quarter. Cavaliers began the final period making their first 11 shots before a 11-3 run by the Raptors in the final five minutes of the game sealed the deal.
LeBron James played the all 24 minutes of the second half, 45 in total, and once again came up big scoring a team-high 29 points, grabbing 9 rebounds and dishing out six assists. Kyrie Irving had 26 points on 11 of 21 shooting but no other Cavalier could chip in effectively as key role players in J.R. Smith and Kevin Love only combined for 19 points on 7 of 26 shooting (26.9%).
Both teams have won their home games this series, infact both teams have been outstanding playing at home this post-season. The Cavaliers’ record this season is 6-0 while the Raptors record, having played more games, stands at 8-2.
While DeRozan and Lowry have provided the much-needed lift in the Raptors offence these last two games, it’s been back-up center Bismack Biyombo’s defence in the paint which has been the difference. In Game 3, he had a franchise record 26 rebounds along with four blocks and although he did not have the same volume of rebounds, he made sure to leave his impact on the game.
In the closing minutes of the game, he came up with a clutch block and an offensive rebound on consecutive possessions, which made closing the game a lot easier for the Raptors. He eventually finished with 14 rebounds (3 offensive) and 3 blocks in 41 minutes of contribution.
Game 5 will be played in Quicken Loans Arena on Wednesday night at Cleveland.
Here’s a short look at the defensive impact of Biyombo, recording two blocks on the same possession.
